Christmastide: Its History, Festivities, and CarolsSandys, William
History
Christmastide: Its History, Festivities, and Carols
Sandys, William
Christmas
In 1847 Mr. Sharpe published eleven Christmas carols, with good
illustrations; and in the same year, Dr. Rimbault, a great musical
antiquary, edited, in a tasteful form, five old carols, with six
tunes. In 1841, as before mentioned, Mr. Wright edited a collection of
forty-nine old Christmas carols, for the Percy Society; and in 1847,
songs and carols for the same Society; they are seventy-six in number,
of which about half may be considered carols; there was an illustrated
collection by Mr. Cundell, in 1846, and there are probably others which
have not come to my knowledge.
Mr. Hervey, in 1836, published the ‘Book of Christmas,’ containing a
good deal of information in a pleasing style, with illustrations; and
two years since a very elegant work was edited by Mr. H. Vizetelly,
called ‘Christmas with the Poets,’ being a selection of poetical
pieces, including some carols from the thirteenth century to the
present time, forming an interesting collection, embellished with fine
woodcuts.
Besides the several broadside carols, and printed collections in town
and country, before referred to, there have been various collections
of Welsh carols; several are among the Myvyrian MSS., belonging to the
Cymmrodorion: No. 14, written about the year 1640, contains thirty-two;
and No. 15, of about the same date, has two. The _Lffyr Carolan_, or
‘Book of Carols,’ fourth edition, Shrewsbury, 1740, comprises sixty-six
carols for Christmas, and five summer carols; and _Blodeugerdd Cymric_,
or the ‘Anthology of Wales,’ Shrewsbury, 1779, contains forty-eight
Christmas carols, nine summer carols, three May carols, one winter
carol, one nightingale carol, and a carol to Cupid, which might
interest my readers, if I could translate it.
The carols printed in the following pages, are taken from a collection
of several hundred English, including the broadside publications for
the last thirty years; and French, including several editions in the
_patois_. Some of the English, according to reputation, have been
known in Cornwall for nearly three hundred years past, and these,
with others, have been obtained from old manuscript copies now in my
possession, or oral tradition from the singers themselves, and the
tunes have been procured in the same way, though I am indebted to my
friend, Mr. Wm. Chappell, for the harmonies.
I have selected, out of several versions of the western Christmas
play of ‘St. George and the Dragon,’ that which seemed best adapted
for the purpose. Specimens have been printed in Hone’s ‘Every Day
Book,’ the ‘Gentleman’s Magazine,’ and the ‘Popular Rhymes’ of Mr.
Halliwell, who has applied his store of reading to the illustration of
our poetical literature. There is a version also in that dialect with
some description, in Jan Trenoodle’s ‘Specimens of Cornish Provincial
Dialect,’ a small work for which I am answerable, and therefore,
perhaps, ought not to refer to it, but I know no other of the sort.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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